Amalgamator.



E. B. BENNETT.

AMALGAMATOR. APPLIOATION FILED JULY z, 1913.

Patented June 23, 1914n 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

lll llll coLuMmA PLANOGRAPN Co., WASHINGTON, D, c.

E. B. BENNETT. AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY z, 1913.

Patented June'23, 1914.

2 EEEEEEEEEEEE 2.

@Mom/w13 UNITED STATES PATENT GEFTCE.

ERASTUS B. BENNETT, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

AMALGAMATOR.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ERAsTUs B. BENNETT, citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in amalgamators or machines adapted through the instrumentality of mercury to save the free precious metal values contained in the material under treatment. This material is usually what is known as placer dirt, meaning any substance of an amorphous character which in its natural condition carries precious metal values as gold and silver in a free state and therefore in condition to be caught or united with mercury when brought in contact therewith.

lVhere a machine of this character is employed for treating placer material, the coarser gangue must be eliminated in order to protect the comparatively delicate elements constituting the amalgamator proper. Hence, in the drawing, I have illustrated a sluice arranged above the amalgamator proper and having a perforated bottom portion through which the finer material containing the values passes.

The amalgamator proper is in the form of an inclined box or receptacle provided with a pocket containing a quantity of liquid mercury in which a number of cylindrical copper bars are located, the said bars being floatably sustained by the mercury. Arranged directly above this pocket or the liquid mercury, there is a distributing roller, which limits the space through which the material under treatment must pass during contact with the mercury coated bars, the said distributing roller being vertically adliustable to regulate the depth of said space. The box, provided with the mercury pocket, is inclined to cause the material under treatment which is in the form of a comparatively thin pulp, to pass underneath the distributing roller with suiiicient speed to Vcause the bars floatably sustained by themercury, to rotate therein, As these barsA Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 2, 1913.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Serial No. 776,896.

are coated with mercury, the free precious metal values contained in the material under treatment are caught upon the mercurycoated surfaces of the bars and as the latter rotate in the mercury, the amalgam coating falls to the bottom of the mercury pocket and a new mercury coating takes its place.

In this way, the coating o-f the bars is con` stantly renewed, the amalgam being as constantly removed automatically from the bars and caused to settle to the bottom of the mercury pocket by virtue of its greater specific gravity due to the gold carried, thereby forming the most important element. lVhile any number of these pockets may be employed, such increase is practically duplication, though it may be found in practice advisable to employ a number of pockets to which the material is delivered in succession, in order that all of the free precious metal values may be brought in contact with the mercury coated surfaces of the bars.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, T will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing Figure 1 is a Vertical longitudinal section taken through my improved amalgamator. This section may be indicated by the line 1 1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is the same as Fig. 1, except that it shows but a fragment of the construction on a larger scale. 4 is a section taken on the curved line 4 4, Fig. 3 showing the mercury coated bars in top plan view.

The same reference characters refer to like parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate an inclined box or trough, the inclination of the box to the vertical or horizontal as illustrated in the drawing being approximately 45 degrees. The bottom of this box between the side members 6 is reinforced to form ledges 7 Vwhich extend upwardly from the bottom 8 of the box or trough at approximately right angles to the plane of the bottom or the plane of inclination.V Between the bottom of the box at apoint 9 adjacent the ledge and a point 10 of the ledge, a pocket 12 is formed containing a quantity 13 of to approximately cover the entire surface of the mercury pocket, in order to prevent the material under treatment from coming in contact with the liquid mercury in such a manner as to remove the same from the pocket and carry it away with the tailings.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, two ledges 7 are formed but as the ledge construction is substantial duplication as heretofore intimated, the description of one ledge and its connections will be suiiicient.

The box or trough 5 is adjustable as to its inclination by means of a turn-buckle 15 interposed between two rod members 16 and 17, the lat-ter being connected with the lower extremity of the trough by means of metal straps 18 which are secured to the opposite sides of the trough by means of fastening devices 19; while the rod 16 is connected with a stationary sluice 20 by means of metal straps 21 applied to the 0pposite extremities of the sluice and secured thereto by fastening devices 22.

As shown in the drawing, the turn-buckle has a swiveled connection with the lower extremity of the rod 16 as shown at 23, while its opposite extremity has a threaded connection wit-h the threaded part 24 of the rod member 17. By adjusting the turnbuckle, the inclinationof the box or trough 5 may be regulated by virtue of the well known function of an adjusting device of this character, since the upper extremity of the box 5 is loosely suspended from the sluice 20 by means of links 25 interposed between upper and lower pairs of metal straps 26 and 27 secured to the opposite sides of the sluice 20 and the box 5 respectively, by means of suitable fastening devices 28 and 29.

Rotatably supported above each mercury pocket 13 is a distributing roll 30 which passes through openings 31 formed in the opposite sides of the box, the said roll having journal extensions 32 which engage vertically movable boxes 33 which are supported from below by spiral springs 34 which engage brackets 35 secured to the sides of the box and formed integral with vertically disposed brackets 36 which also extend above the journals and are provided Vwith horizontally disposed angular parts 37 in which are threaded screws 38 whose lower extremities are journaled in the upper members of the bearings 33. virtue of this, the roll 30 may be raised and lowered at will by the proper adjustment of the screws 38, since the openings 31 on the opposite sides of t-he box are elongated to permit a reasonable range of adjustment of the roll. This roll is also provided with a series of longitudinally disposed, radially arranged strips 39 which constitute blades arranged to be acted on by the' material as it passes through the the material under treatment of the space between the roll and the Y mercury pocket. If desired, these blades 39 may consist of copper and may be coated with mercury and therefore adapted to ccperate with the mercury pocket and the bars there'- in for the saving of the values contained in the material under treatment.

When the machine is in use, the material to be treated in combination with a suitable quantity of water, is delivered to the sluice 20 which is suitably inclined for the purpose, whereby the material will move downwardly in the direction of the box 5.

This sluice directly above the upper exmator. The material 4l as soon as it strikes Y the inclined bottom of the box 5 continuesV downwardly along the bottom of the box until it reaches the uppermost roll 30, which serves to evenly distribute the layer of material which then passes underneath the roll and in contact with the mercury coated floatably sustained bars 14 which are caused to rotate by the movement ofthe material. These bars being coated with mercury will catch the free preciousA metal' values which unite with the mercury to form an amalgam which, as the bars rotate is washed o" by the mercury in the cell and settles to the bottom of the latter by virtue of its greater specific gravity due to the accumulation of gold. In this way, the bars 14 are continually gathering free gold while the latter in the form of an amalgam passes to the bottom of the mercury pocket wherebv the bars during their rotary action Y are continually presenting fresh mercury coated surfaces to the material under treatment. By virtue of thisarrangement the bars 14 are equally active for gold saving purposes, regardless of the period of their use and never become loaded with amalgam as the latter is removed by and deposited in the mercury bath as fast as it accumulates.

In case any values contained `in the material shall escape being caught by the bars i 14 of the uppermost cell, these values will be caught by the cell next below. In fact any desired number of these cells maybe successively arranged in the box 5, the number being suiicient to completelyvimpoverish precious metal values carried thereby.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: A

1. An amalgamator comprising an inclined trough equipped with a ledge, a mercury containing pocket being formed at the junction of the bottom of the trough with the ledge, a number of bars coated by and floatable in the body of mercury in the pocket, and means arranged above the mercury pocket for distributing the material to be treated, lengthwiseof the pocket as it approaches the latter.

2. The combination with a sluice, of a trough arranged to receive the discharge from said sluice, said trough being inclined downwardly and provided with a ledge having a pocket containing a body of liquid mercury at the junction of the ledge with the bottom of the trough, and mercury coated bars floatably sustained in the body of mercury and means for maintaining a comparatively shallow iiow of material above said bars. r

3. An amalgamator, comprising a trough inclined downwardly and provided with a ledge, said trough having a pocket containing a body of liquid mercury at the junction of the ledge with the bottom of the trough, bars floatably supported in said pocket, and distributing means adjustably mounted in the trough above the mercury pocket and in close proximity thereto.

4t. An amalgamator, comprising a trough inclined downwardly and provided with a ledge, and having a pocket containing a body of liquid mercury at the junction of the ledge with the bo-ttom of the trough, tloatable bars supported in said pocket, and a distributing roll adjustably mounted in the trough above the mercury pocket and in close proximity thereto, the roll having blades radially arranged and disposed longitudinally of the axis of the roll.

5. An amalgamator, comprising a trough inclined downwardly and provided with a ledge, and having a pocket containing a body of liquid mercury at the junction of the ledge with the bottom of the trough, bars floatably supported in the body of mercury in said pocket, and a distributing roll adjustably mounted in the trough above the mercury pocket and in close proximity thereto, the roll having blades radially arranged and disposed longitudinally of the axis of the roll, the said blades being mercury coated.

6. A trough mounted to have a steep incline, the bottom of the trough being provided at intervals with upstanding ledges forming transverse recesses substantially semi-cylindrical in shape, said trough having transverse mercury pockets opening out of the bottoms of said recesses, mercury in said pockets, rotatable amalgamable elements floatably supported in said mercury and transverse bars of curved lower cross section supported above said pockets and eX- tending into said recesses.

7. A trough mounted to have a steep incline, a ledge extending upwardly from the bottom of said trough and forming together with the trough bottom above a transverse recess substantially semi-cylindrical in shape, said trough having a transverse mercury pocket opening out of the bottom of said recess throughout its entire length, mercury in said pocket, rotatable amalgamable elements floatably supported in said .mercury and a transverse bar of curved lower cross section supported vabove said pocket and extending into said recess.

8. In combination, a trough having along its bottom member a steep incline, the bottom of the trough at the base of the incline being curved upwardly forming a transverse recess of substantially semicylindrical shape, said trough having a mercury pocket parallel with and opening out of the bottom of said recess, mercury in said pocket, amalgamable elements floatably supported in said mercury and.a bar supported above said pocket, said bar extending into the recess and being curved along its lower surface, substantially concentrically with the surface of said recess.

9. In combination, a trough having along its bottom member a steep incline, the bottom of the trough at the base of the incline being curved upwardly forming a transverse recess of substantially semicylindrical shape, said trough having a mercury pocket parallel with and opening out of the bottom of said recess, mercury in said pocket, amalgamable elements floatably supported therein and a bar supported above said pocket, said bar being adjustable toward and away from said pocket extending into said recess and being curved along its lower surface substantially concentric with the surface of said recess.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERASTUS B. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

ANNA L. LEHMAN, A. J. OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

